Macedonia man sentenced for bilking elderly people; married couple defrauded out of more than $380,000

Akron Beacon Journal (OH)

May 24-- May 24--A Macedonia man who claimed to be a financial planner but defrauded three elderly people out of nearly $575,000 was sentenced to more than six years in prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland.

William E. Callam, 61, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay $574,146 in restitution, according to the release issued Thursday. He previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud.

"The conduct of this defendant is reprehensible. He stole the life savings of three elderly people to feed his own greed and lifestyle," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in the news release. "The Justice Department is committed to protecting older Americans and holding accountable anyone who would defraud them."

According to court documents, Callam told three people from Lake County that his Blackstone Real Estate Group LLC financed loans for the purpose of rehabilitating commercial property, with the loans secured by mortgages on the property. He promised investors safe investments with an annual return of six percent.

The investors liquidated their annuities, insurance policies and other retirement assets to invest those funds in Blackstone. Callam created false statements purporting to reflect investors' earnings. Instead, he used their money to maintain his personal lifestyle and enrich himself and family members, court documents say.

A married couple was defrauded out of $381,571 while another person was defrauded out of $192,575 as a result of Callam's scheme.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Miller prosecuted the case following an investigation by the FBI.

"Callum will be serving a significant amount of time behind bars for victimizing elderly folks out of their life savings," FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Smith said. "The FBI will continue efforts to hold criminals accountable for preying on others for their own greed."

Callam has a history of defrauding people. He was convicted in 2007 of defrauding two senior citizens out of $68,000. Later that year he was convicted of defrauding four other people out of $49,000 in a similar scheme. He was later convicted of defrauding another person out of $55,000, according to court documents.

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